Approaches to the rain

[Kleiny41]

I am curious to hear from you all what your philosophy/conduct is when approaching shooting large format cameras and rain. I ask as DC has about 7 to 10 days of rain in the forecast. I am curious as to people handle a rainy forecast. Do you not shoot outside? Does it matter if bellows get wet? (I would guess that yes it matters). I tend to shoot outdoors, gardens, florals etc. I’m curious how others approach rain.

[Richard Wasserman]

Some of my favorite photos have been made either while it was raining or shortly before or after—I like the quality of the light. I do keep the camera dry, and use a Harrison dark cloth that is adequate protection from light precipitation. It can also be over the camera to form a hood that will keep rain off the lens. Often there is shelter of some sort near where I am working, or if not, even if it is raining, the rain is often not constant and I have photographed when the rain took a break. You can always carry a large umbrella, although I have never tried that.

I urge you to try it—large format is not just for sunny days.

[jim10219]

I agree that just before or after the rain can make for some very dramatic skies and intriguing lighting. I’m too afraid to take my camera out into the rain, but I’m not too afraid to sit in my car and watch for breaks in the storm on my weather radar app. And it’s not just the water that scares me, but the strong gusts of wind and lightning that usually accompany it in my area.

[John Layton]

While a light steady rain without (or at least minimal) wind...I generally find it relatively easy to keep the camera dry. Sometimes I'll butcher a black contractor bag - making a slit along one seamed edge and continuing this along the bottom edge...creating a "tent" which can cover the camera, extending forward enough to cover the lens and back far enough to form a reasonable "dark cloth," while still allowing enough access to camera controls.

The problem I have in the above situation relates to film holder logistics - getting the holder out of its ziplock and into the camera back in a completely dry state. If I can either manage to strap a "cascade" film case underneath the cover of the above-mentioned contractor bag tent, then I can usually effect a safe transfer of a holder into the camera back. But even a light breeze can make this difficult.

I do have a project currently in progress...which if and when completed will allow a large "golf" umbrella to be mounted to a tripod leg, on an assembly which swivels for some adjustability - offers good protection/coverage while allowing great access to all camera controls...and should make film holder logistics a bit more reliable. But again...a light breeze would make this ineffective - although...aha! A quick release mechanism to allow me to detach and hold the umbrella above the camera without actually making contact, during the actual exposure...problem solved! Will get to work on this!

[John Kasaian]

The 8x10 'dorff does not appreciate the rain, however the 5x7 Speeder takes to it like a duck to water.

[LabRat]

Keeping the camera dry is not too hard, but the big problem I have faced is that when removing a holder from a dry environment to shooting in damp air, is the emulsion can buckle until the film absorbs the moisture evenly... This can result in OOF patches when developed... Different films and formats respond differently...A good procedure is before final focusing to put holder into dark camera, pull and reinsert the slide to allow the air contact with the film at least a few minutes ( or longer) to reach moisture equilibrium... This usually works... The same problem can also exist when bringing holders from a damp environment to inside air, but this can take longer for the to redry... Like I said, different formats/films respond differently and create different tensions on the film flatness, what was odd for me was 4x5 was much less affected by this, but my 6X9 sheet film was affected a lot...

Another factor to consider is during the rain, lighting contrasts are very low producing flat results, but when there is no rain between the lens + subject it is much better, so wait between the rain falling, but as mentioned it can get quite gusty with the wind...

BTW, 35mm will hold the film flattest during weather events...

Stay dry, but have fun!!!

Steve K

[Kleiny41]

Thank you to all for sharing your perspectives!! I really do appreciate it!


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[tgtaylor]

When its raining I switch to the big Pentax 67II if I want a big negative. I have a raincoat for that camera that protects the camera body from water up to the front element of the lens which I keep protected with a UV filter until the moment before I release the shutter. LF is more doable under snowy conditions but as with rainy conditions, wind may be a limiting factor which the P67 more readily handles. That said the focal plane shutter curtain on the 67, as in most helical focusing cameras, absorbs moisture, i.e., humidity. The first time I noticed it was during a rainy season hike in the Diablo Range. I had stopped to change rolls and noticed the shutter curtain was soaked like a wet rag. It didn't have any noticeable effect on the negatives or on the curtain when dried.

Thomas

[Vaughn]

Location depends a lot. For the first couple of hours, a light rain under the redwoods is no problem, and the air can be quite still. Occasional large drops might shake a fern at the wrong time. I like to photograph in the redwoods at this inbetween time, wonderful mid-day light. A hard rain, or after too long of a rain, the 8x10 stays in the pack and I enjoy the sights and smells. Win-win situation.

I rode a bicycle and photographed in New Zealand for 5 months or so, many years ago, 1986/87. Lightweight 4x5, one lens, 5 holders, lots of rain. But I was not on a tight schedule and was traveling solo, so plans could be easily changed due to weather, etc. I spent 4 or 5 days in Franz Josef so that I could have two days photographing around the glacier...even those days had a little rain, but it meant that there wwere waterfalls all over and the rock glowed. A couple images from there; The river just below the glacier, and a waterfall (~80 to 100 feet tall). 4x5 negs, 16x20 silver gelatin prints

[Drew Wiley]

I've deliberately gone out into heavy rain and soggy blizzards many many times with both 4x5 and 8X10 gear. I use a Goretex darkcloth and always have a good Goretex parka in my pack, all year long. But for casual walks on rainy days I often default to med format gear in a shoulder case, or sometimes even a Nikon loaded with high-speed film, kinda my poetic grainy small print alter-ego to meticulous LF imagery. For risky really wet conditions on long road trips, I'll pack into my box of supplies in the truck a little tight tupperware box containing freshly baked-out silica gel. It acts as an emergency desiccation chamber, and has saved both my own lenses and those of friends from expensive repair bills defogging them. There are a few times I've shot a view camera right below big Northwestern waterfalls. .. study the mist patterns, set up, try to focus, shield the camera from falling water with the big waterproof darkcloth, fiddle a bit at a time, and finally, at just the right moment, uncover the camera again, pop the lens cap off, and press the shutter ... then two long weeks storing that
particular lens in the desiccation box, meanwhile substituting a different lens to work with. One valid reason to have a backup beater lens; you aren't paranoid to get it wet. Cameras themselves dry relatively quickly if necessary. I keep a big microfiber
cloth on hand for that purpose. All my pack gear goes into plastic bags, even inside the pack itself. That can be a life and death issue in the mountains, especially with respect to clothing and sleeping bags. I've been dunked completely underwater
pack n' all crossing swollen streams, without any of my camera gear or critical personal supplies getting wet. Boots and jeans
full of ice-water aren't necessarily the fun you bargained for, but at times come with the territory.

[Willie]

Buy a VW or Chrysler or other van with a sliding side door. Set up the camera on the tripod inside out of the rain after parking with the open door facing your subject. You keep dry, listen to the radio, sip your soda pop, trip the shutter and then drive off. May not be too good for subjects very far off the road.

[Vaughn]

I have lifted up the back door of my EuroVan and have set the camera under that -- for both rain and to make shade

[Drew Wiley]

What is a road?

[Vaughn]

Its what a roadrunner runs on.

[Liquid Artist]

My dark cloth is water resistant, and has covered my Burke & James 5x7 a few times without any issues

[Drew Wiley]

Yes, I remember roadrunners, running across the road. But I had the choice of either walking a mile barefoot on that hot paved road to get an ice cream bar,
or doing it barefoot on sharp stickers through the fields. Many years after, office gals gave me a stuffed little Wile E. Coyote mascot for my desk, for obvious reasons; so I guess that makes me a presumed expert on roadrunners.

[Hans Berkhout]

Large size backpack rain cover. Will cover 4x5 camera as well as my head while composing, focusing.180835

[Willie]

Buy an umbrella?

[f9likethekey]

I use a clamping golf umbrella for 8x10 : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BHJFSV7/ref=twister_B07CJ827ZT?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I use a compact umbrella with this clamp for 4x5 : https://www.amazon.com/Selens-Camera-Umbrella-Bracket-Support/dp/B01F8I4MPM?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01F8I4MPM

Neither work great in the wind (but neither does my LF gear), but it saves you from having to work under more cloth.

[Drew Wiley]

What on earth do you clamp it to? Hopefully not the tripod ! The bellows already have enough wind resistance to shake an exposure without something like that added. Carrying an umbrella and holding it some other way might work in a gentle rain (I've done it); but then your hands aren't really free for camera work itself, and any serious gust of wind risks everything landing in a puddle. I do lots of shooting in the rain and worse, and already outlined my strategy using a big Goretex darkcloth supplemented with velcro tabs and simple clothespins (never corner weights !!!). But one of those new oversized backpacking ponchos might indeed do the trick. I haven't carried a poncho since I was young. But they were once standard gear in the mountains and doubled as an emergency mini-tent.

[minh0204]

I like Ebony's solution:

180870

[Greg]

So over the years have owned several VW vans: '71 Weekender, '91 Carat, and a ''05 Eurovan. All had side pull out awnings over the side door which well protected me and my equipment from liquid or frozen elements. If it was chilly or cold outside, almost always brewed up some hot tea. Only catch was that after I rolled up the awning, on the next dry day would have to roll it out to dry. Had no hesitation to take the '71 Weekender off road. Less so with the '91 and the '05. But now have a small SUV. As tgtaylor had posted on this thread, I now most of the time use a Pentax 67II. Never had a problem with the focal plane shutter "dampening" up, but loading the camera in the rain always a challenge since I don't carry an umbrella. When the weather gets bad, use a Nikon D850 with its 24-120mm lens, and make digital negatives to print from. Actually more and more am using the D850 and making (calibrated) digital negatives to print from... end cost of materials for Platinum/Palladium prints drastically reduced then from printing from original negatives. So when it's really, really bad out here, have resorted to just take out my Nikonos with it's 35mm lens, then scan and make digital negatives to print Platinum/Palladium from.

[Drew Wiley]

The biggest yet actually minor problem with the P67 system is that it's easy to get condensation between the focus screen and the removable pentaprism. I just keep a bit of removable masking tape around and tape the rear of the gap. The factory gasketing isn't always sufficient, and your own breath is what can fog it in damp weather. In really cold weather, it's more important than ever to have a warm spare battery. I do own a remote battery cable, but have never used it. The P67 is a famously rugged reliable system. If normal-wide shots are in order, I find my Fuji "Texas Leica" rangefinder more appropriate. It's done just fine in wet weather or soggy blizzards too, and is light enough to sometimes accompany a view camera. I took it for a hundred mile hike last fall which included a lot of cold wet weather of every description. For mere dayhikes I also carry a little holster-like belt pouch and matching size stainless thermos for either hot coffee or cold water on warm days. If you have a compendium shade and some velcro, it's easy to rig up a rain cover analogous to Ebony's. Otherwise, you could sew in a bit of flexible hoop material for the front.

[Kleiny41]

Once again, thanks to everyone for their thoughtful contributions. I have a Pentax 67ii which I use several times a week and my digital system is Nikon D810. I just thought it was funny that the alt shooting tools mentioned were what I happen to own and use. Thanks so much!


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[f9likethekey]

What on earth do you clamp it to? Hopefully not the tripod ! The bellows already have enough wind resistance to shake an exposure without something like that added. Carrying an umbrella and holding it some other way might work in a gentle rain (I've done it); but then your hands aren't really free for camera work itself, and any serious gust of wind risks everything landing in a puddle. I do lots of shooting in the rain and worse, and already outlined my strategy using a big Goretex darkcloth supplemented with velcro tabs and simple clothespins (never corner weights !!!). But one of those new oversized backpacking ponchos might indeed do the trick. I haven't carried a poncho since I was young. But they were once standard gear in the mountains and doubled as an emergency mini-tent.

I do clamp it right to the tripod, though I don't shoot in heavy wind with rain. In a calm rain (straight down) it works wonders if you have a heavy tripod.

[John Layton]

If the tripod clamp had a quick-release mechanism...one could simply unclamp and hold the umbrella above the camera during the actual exposure - thus isolating the camera from any umbrella-induced vibrations at the most critical point in time.

[Havoc]

I just stay inside and do something else.

[seall]

An XXL Exped dry bag fits very well over the 4x5 when the camera is on a tripod, fastens through the legs and is so light (124g) you won't notice it.

I always carry a black one for intermittent showers or in case my pack gets waterlogged.

It has also come in handy when crossing a deep river and provided good protection from airborne sand.

Takes seconds to put on or take off whilst being the right size to cover the important bits.

For under £15 it has to be one of the best bits of outdoor kit I have ever bought.

[Drew Bedo]

I am curious to hear from you all what your philosophy/conduct is when approaching shooting large format cameras and rain. I ask as DC has about 7 to 10 days of rain in the forecast. I am curious as to people handle a rainy forecast. Do you not shoot outside? Does it matter if bellows get wet? (I would guess that yes it matters). I tend to shoot outdoors, gardens, florals etc. I’m curious how others approach rain.

In that type of shooting condition, I carefully place my camera bag under my chair at a nice restaurant, then enjoy good food and drink while surrounded by my loving family. A fire in the fireplace helps. If there is convenient the camera bag first goes into the car trunk or my hotel room.

At this point in my life, I have spent plenty of time out in the cold rain for pne or another employer. I have had about as much of that kind of fun as I can stand.